“I would have voted for Bradley because of (Daniel) Ruffin and (Jeremy) Crouch. They’ve played in big games, they have Sweet 16 experience and they’re older. That’s very rare in our league this year.”

The 39 voters (sports information directors, newspaper beat writers, play-by-play announcers and head coaches) picked BU a solid second, the loftiest prediction for the Braves since being picked to win the MVC eight years ago.

The poll was announced at the Valley media day Tuesday at the Sheraton St. Louis City Center.

“The perception of Bradley has grown and that’s what Coach (Jim) Les set out to do when he got here,” Crouch said. “I’m a little bit surprised (being picked so high). But the last couple of years, we didn’t focus on (being chosen eighth and sixth respectively) and I don’t think that’ll change this year.”

Missouri State, Creighton and Illinois State rounded out the first division followed by Wichita State, Northern Iowa, Indiana State, Drake and Evansville.

“You want to be voted first,” Lowery said. “You want to win and when other people think of you in that manner, it’s good for your program. But you have to live up to those standards.”

Salukis center Randal Falker was chosen as the league’s preseason Player of the Year. Also on the all-conference preseason team were Northern Iowa’s Eric Coleman, Wichita State’s PJ Couisnard, Missouri State’s Deven Mitchell and Ruffin.

“It’s definitely an honor,” Falker said. “It means we have a great team. There’s no way I could get this without my teammates.”

During his state-of-the-Valley speech Tuesday morning, MVC commissioner Doug Elgin revealed the site of the league tournament beyond 2008 would be announced by Nov. 15.

The tournament has been in St. Louis since 1991 and at the current location, now called the Scottrade Center, since 1995. The current three-year contract concluded last March with a verbal agreement for this season.

The semifinals and championship were both sold out at 22,612 per session last year. The title game was the best-attended Division I conference championship match last season.

Other than St. Louis, proposals from Omaha (Qwest Center), Des Moines (Wells Fargo Arena) and Kansas City (Sprint Center) are being considered. The fifth city under original consideration, Chicago (United Center), did not submit a bid.

“There’s not a lot I can say about it,” Elgin said. “We are studying the proposals. We have learned we have options and they’re all good.”

Lowery doesn’t think the Omaha option is a good one.

“I wouldn’t want to go play in somebody’s city in the league,” he said. “Personally, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

The 10-school Valley welcomes five new coaches this season, the highest turnover since Dick Versace and four others joined the league 29 years ago.

The new coaches are Tim Jakovich at Illinois State, Marty Simmons at Evansville, Keno Davis at Drake, Kevin McKenna at Indiana State and Gregg Marshall at Wichita State.

“It will breathe new life into the league with some new styles,” Les said. “It will be a heckuva challenge. If anything, the parity of the league will get better.”

Valley views: The MVC announced a five-year agreement with Bloomington-based State Farm Insurance as the league’s title sponsor, extending the current agreement through the 2011-12 season. ... The Valley will receive $4.2 million for its NCAA tournament share this year. The total, which accounts for 70 percent of the conference’s overall revenue, is spread among the 10 league schools. ... Elgin said expansion is “not anywhere on our radar at this point,” he said. “One of the real strengths of our league is our stability. That’s one of the reasons why league harmony is at an all-time high and one of the reasons this league has risen so rapidly.” ... The conference is building a new headquarters building in St. Louis between the Sheraton and the Scottrade Center. Ground will be broken next year.

Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or dreynolds@pjstar.com.

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